Organizing Chaos

Screwball’s dad wanted her to go with him to some farm to pick up the traps he borrowed. He said something about them being the traps he used to relocate the woodchucks she was now getting more acquainted with. She was surprised that he remembered her telling him about them and she was planning on keeping an eye on them to see how they were doing. She had always liked all kinds of animals. If only there was a way to be with them more? She thought, putting green leaves in the jar for the caterpillar to eat. It seemed to be healthy and growing a little. It better be a cocoon before the leaves change color. They probably won’t taste as good when they’re red, brown, and yellow. She was worried about the survival of her new insect friend. After debating with herself as to whether or not she would go with him, she decided she would. It’s a Friday and it’s not like I have any friends to hang out with, like how most of my classmates start their weekends.

It wasn’t a long ride to Sweet Apple Acres. There was a girl in her grade, Apple Bloom, who lived there. She hoped she was not going to run in to her. They pulled into the driveway and got out of the truck and Screwball’s anxiety went up while they walked behind the house to find Apple Bloom and her brother going through apples to give to their grandma, who was also the lunch lady, to bake into deserts. That seemed like a lot of work for an old lady to do on top of preparing food for the school. She didn’t know that Apple Bloom worked like this to. Screwball considered talking to her, or even helping with the work, but fear of rejection and failure froze her solid. While she stood there, her dad asked them where to find their sister and her friend. Almost mocking Screwball’s shyness around others, Apple Bloom had no problem talking to them. She told them they were in the orchard.

They walked through a thin forest of beautiful apple trees before finding the two girls her dad had lent the traps to, and one of them was the person who had invaded her sanctuary. They were both picking apples. Her mouth went dry with the thought of this girl recognizing her. She was even nervous of this girl knowing the bad things she thought of her and calling her out on them, which is ridiculous. The other girl, who had her long blonde hair, tied loosely, green eyes, slightly sun tanned skin, and freckles noticed them first and let the girl with the wavy pink hair know they were here. It was as if they had been expecting them, as neither was surprised to see the pair.

“Howdy, how ya’ll likin’ this here Sweet Apple Acres,” said the girl who lived here in a heavy southern drawl.

Screwball wanted to tell them it was lovely, but the word’s got caught in her throat and her dad answered first. “It’s nice.”

“The traps you gave us are in the barn, umm, I could maybe help you get them.” The invader said this in a high pitched, quiet voice.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m all set. Screwball, why don’t you stay here while I get those? I’ll come get you when I’m all set.” She wanted to protest and go with him, but hear fear of talking took over, and she just nodded her head.

These two girls didn’t seem as mean as she would have taken them for. The southern one asked her name and she whispered “Screwball” just loud enough for them to hear. Neither made fun of how her goofy that name was.

“I’ve seen you riding you’re bike around where I live. That’s a nice spot, isn’t it? What do you think of the woodchuck’s I’ve released there?” The other one added; if Screwball was going to go through with her plans to confront her about that, it all went out the window now.

“Umm, they’re nice I guess. I’ll stop going there,” she said, meekly.

The southern girl just looked at her funny, but the other one made sort of a smile and said, “Well, you don’t have to stop going there. I think it’s nice that other people visit. You know, if you’re interested in animals, I volunteer at the animal shelter downtown every Saturday morning. You could swing by tomorrow, if you want.”

The thought made Screwball excited. Any thoughts of this being some kind of cruel trick were not going through her mind right now. She gave her a weird smile and said she’d come by and help out. Then, without really thinking about it, she helped them pick apples. The southern girl thanked her, told them their names were Applejack and Fluttershy, and said that she could take some apples home with her if she wanted. Not too long afterwards, her dad returned and they went back to their house. She even waved Apple Bloom goodbye on the way to the truck, and to her surprise, Apple Bloom waved back instead of pretending not to notice her like most kids would.